Wouldn’t it be nice to have more money to put into your savings account every month? Well, if you’re still paying for cable or satellite TV, you could turn that monthly bill into cash for your piggy bank. And cutting the cable cord doesn’t mean you’ll have to go without television - there are lots of cable alternatives out there these days.
According to a report from Leichtman Research Group, the average monthly cable bill in America is $103. That’s $1,236 a year! By comparison, most paid online video streaming services only charge between $8 and $20 a month.
Here’s a taste of what’s out there beyond cable:
Hulu is a paid “video on-demand” service that allows its subscribers to watch episodes from current and past seasons of broadcast and cable television shows. The service also features movies and original programming. The service costs $7.99 per month, or $11.99 a month without commercial interruption. You can also add HBO content to your subscription for an extra $14.99 a month. The cost to add Cinemax programming to your Hulu subscription costs $9.99 a month, and it costs $8.99 a month to add Showtime programming. In May of 2017, Hulu also launched Hulu with Live TV, which allows live TV streaming, and cloud-based DVR storage, on supported devices such as Apple TV, Roku, Xbox, and Amazon Fire. Hulu with Live TV starts at $39.99 per month.
Netflix is a commercial-free video streaming service with a wide variety of content including award-winning television shows, documentaries, movies, and original programming. Netflix offers three pricing tiers: a $7.99 per month “Basic” plan that allows streaming on one device at a time in Standard-Definition, a $9.99 per month “Standard” plan that allows you to stream in High-Definition on up to two devices at a time, and an $11.99 per month “Premium” plan that allows HD and Ultra HD streaming on as many as four devices at a time.
Amazon, that well-known online shopping mecca, has also dipped into the video streaming market. With Amazon Prime Video you get access to a wide assortment of TV series and movies, along with original programming. Amazon Prime Video is included with an Amazon Prime membership, which will set you back $99 per year. But it’s an investment that definitely gives you a lot of bang for your buck, as Amazon Prime members also enjoy a host of other perks such as free two-day shipping for eligible purchases on Amazon.com, the ability to borrow e-books from the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library, unlimited commercial-free access to more than one million songs with Prime Music, and unlimited photo storage with Prime Photos.
Unless you’ve lived in a cave for the past several years, you know all about YouTube. But did you know that there’s now YouTube TV? Yep, it’s out there, and it offers (for a monthly fee of about $35) live streaming broadcasts from 40 broadcast and cable channels including ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, and ESPN, among others.
Sling TV is a live TV streaming service owned by Dish Network. Sling’s basic package starts at $20 per month and includes around 30 live TV channels like AMC, Disney Channel, ESPN, History Channel, CNN, and HGTV. The service also has add-on packages that give you access to additional live channels.
Even premium cable channels like HBO, Starz, and Showtime are getting into the streaming game. All of them offer stand-alone packages that give you access to a multitude of original programs, special shows, and movies.
This is just a sampling of what’s available beyond the world of cable, but your choices are plentiful. You can pick and choose from a variety of video streaming services to create a custom TV package that suits you, and your wallet.
According to a report from Leichtman Research Group, the average monthly cable bill in America is $103. That’s $1,236 a year! By comparison, most paid online video streaming services only charge between $8 and $20 a month.
Here’s a taste of what’s out there beyond cable:
Hulu is a paid “video on-demand” service that allows its subscribers to watch episodes from current and past seasons of broadcast and cable television shows. The service also features movies and original programming. The service costs $7.99 per month, or $11.99 a month without commercial interruption. You can also add HBO content to your subscription for an extra $14.99 a month. The cost to add Cinemax programming to your Hulu subscription costs $9.99 a month, and it costs $8.99 a month to add Showtime programming. In May of 2017, Hulu also launched Hulu with Live TV, which allows live TV streaming, and cloud-based DVR storage, on supported devices such as Apple TV, Roku, Xbox, and Amazon Fire. Hulu with Live TV starts at $39.99 per month.
Netflix is a commercial-free video streaming service with a wide variety of content including award-winning television shows, documentaries, movies, and original programming. Netflix offers three pricing tiers: a $7.99 per month “Basic” plan that allows streaming on one device at a time in Standard-Definition, a $9.99 per month “Standard” plan that allows you to stream in High-Definition on up to two devices at a time, and an $11.99 per month “Premium” plan that allows HD and Ultra HD streaming on as many as four devices at a time.
Amazon, that well-known online shopping mecca, has also dipped into the video streaming market. With Amazon Prime Video you get access to a wide assortment of TV series and movies, along with original programming. Amazon Prime Video is included with an Amazon Prime membership, which will set you back $99 per year. But it’s an investment that definitely gives you a lot of bang for your buck, as Amazon Prime members also enjoy a host of other perks such as free two-day shipping for eligible purchases on Amazon.com, the ability to borrow e-books from the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library, unlimited commercial-free access to more than one million songs with Prime Music, and unlimited photo storage with Prime Photos.
Unless you’ve lived in a cave for the past several years, you know all about YouTube. But did you know that there’s now YouTube TV? Yep, it’s out there, and it offers (for a monthly fee of about $35) live streaming broadcasts from 40 broadcast and cable channels including ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, and ESPN, among others.
Sling TV is a live TV streaming service owned by Dish Network. Sling’s basic package starts at $20 per month and includes around 30 live TV channels like AMC, Disney Channel, ESPN, History Channel, CNN, and HGTV. The service also has add-on packages that give you access to additional live channels.
Even premium cable channels like HBO, Starz, and Showtime are getting into the streaming game. All of them offer stand-alone packages that give you access to a multitude of original programs, special shows, and movies.
This is just a sampling of what’s available beyond the world of cable, but your choices are plentiful. You can pick and choose from a variety of video streaming services to create a custom TV package that suits you, and your wallet.